U.S. patent application number 15/530222 was filed with the patent office on 2017-08-03 for dispensing system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Lyle Enderson, Paul Freeberg, Terry Goeman, David Guy, Jeffrey D. Johnson. Invention is credited to Lyle Enderson, Paul Freeberg, Terry Goeman, David Guy, Jeffrey D. Johnson.
Application Number | 20170216783 15/530222 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58046472 |
Filed Date | 2017-08-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170216783 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Guy; David ; et al. |
August 3, 2017 |
DISPENSING SYSTEM
Abstract
A dispensing system for delivery of a dispersant from a canister
containing an erodible but cakeable water dispersant wherein the
cakeable water dispersant in a one piece caked condition falls to a
bottom of a divergent walled canister so the water flowing through
a bottom portion of the canister continues to maintain erodible
contact with the dispersant as the water disperant is consumed.
Inventors: |
Guy; David; (Maple Grove,
MN) ; Johnson; Jeffrey D.; (Edina, MN) ;
Freeberg; Paul; (South St. Paul, MN) ; Goeman;
Terry; (Minnetonka, MN) ; Enderson; Lyle;
(Anoka, MN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Guy; David
Johnson; Jeffrey D.
Freeberg; Paul
Goeman; Terry
Enderson; Lyle |
Maple Grove
Edina
South St. Paul
Minnetonka
Anoka |
MN
MN
MN
MN
MN |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58046472 |
Appl. No.: |
15/530222 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62388549 |
Feb 1, 2016 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 137/4891 20150401;
B01F 1/0027 20130101; B01F 2215/0052 20130101; B01F 1/0033
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B01F 1/00 20060101
B01F001/00 |
Claims
1. A dispensing system for controlled delivery of cakeable
dispensable materials to a body of water comprising: an inline
dispenser having a canister chamber; a fluid inlet in the inline
dispenser for directing water into the canister chamber; a fluid
outlet in the inlet dispenser for directing water out of the
canister chamber; a canister located in said canister chamber, said
canister having a sidewall with a top portion of the canister
having a smaller cross sectional dimension than the bottom portion
of the canister; a cakeable dissolvable dispersant located in said
canister chamber; a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet located on a
bottom portion of the canister with the fluid inlet of the canister
in fluid communication with the fluid inlet of the dispenser and
the fluid outlet of the canister in fluid communication with the
fluid outlet of the inline dispenser whereby a fluid flowing
through the inline dispenser valve can at least be partially
diverted proximate the cakeable dispersant in the canister
chamber.
2. The dispensing system of claim 1 wherein the canister has a
frusto conical shape.
3. The dispensing system of claim 1 wherein the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant comprise a mineral, a pesticide, a corrosion
control chemical, a water scale treatment chemical and a chemical
to control a biofilm in a water treatment system.
4. The dispensing system of claim 1 wherein a bottom fluid inlet of
the canister is spaced from a bottom fluid outlet of the canister
so that a fluid flowing through the canister flows past the
cakeable dissolvable dispersant at the bottom of the canister
chamber.
5. The dispensing system of claim 1 wherein an interior sidewall of
the canister has a smooth sidewall.
6. The dispensing system of claim 1 wherein the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant remains in a caked condition as a portion of
the cakeable dissolvable dispersant is eroded by the flow of water
through the canister.
7. The dispensing system of claim 6 wherein the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant has a shape that conforms to the inner
sidewalls of the canister.
8. The dispensing system of claim 7 wherein the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant has a specific gravity greater than one.
9. The dispensing system of claim 8 wherein the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant erodes from a bottom surface of the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant while a side surface of the cakeable
dissolvable dispersant maintains in contact with a sidewall of the
canister.
10. The dispensing system of claim 9 wherein the interior sidewall
of the canister is in contact with a side surface of cakeable
dissolvable dispersant.
11. The dispensing system of claim 10 wherein the weight of the
cakeable dissolvable dispersant causes the cakeable dissolvable
dispersant to migrate toward a bottom of the canister as a bottom
portion of the cakeable dissolvable dispersant is eroded by water
flowing through the bottom of the canister.
12. A dispensing canister comprising; a housing having a chamber
therein with the chamber defined by the top member and a bottom
member; a sidewall joining the top to the bottom with the sidewall
diverging from the top to the bottom; and a bottom inlet and a
bottom outlet in the bottom member of dispensing canister for
directing a fluid into an underside of a cakeable material in the
chamber whereby the cakeable material falls toward the bottom of
the chamber as material is eroded from the underside of the
cakeable material.
13. A dispensing system for controlled delivery of cakeable
dispensable materials or non-cakeable materials that may have
difficulty in falling to the bottom of a dispenser where they can
be dispensed into a body of water comprising: an inline dispenser
having a canister chamber; a fluid inlet in the inline dispenser
for directing water into the canister chamber; a fluid outlet in
the inlet dispenser for directing water out of the canister
chamber; a canister located in said canister chamber, said canister
having a sidewall with a top portion of the canister having a
smaller cross sectional dimension than the bottom portion of the
canister;.pi. a cakeable dissolvable dispersant located in said
canister chamber; a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet on the canister
comprising a screen or open bottom portion of the canister whereby
a fluid flowing through the inline dispenser valve can at least be
partially diverted proximate the cakeable or non-cakeable
dispersant in the canister chamber.
14. A dispensing container for maintaining a stable disperant
delivery rate as a bridgeable dispersant contained therein is
incrementally decreased through a fluid flowing through the
container comprising: a housing having a top end and a bottom end
with an internal downwardly diverging sidewall extending from said
top end to said bottom end to form a downwardly diverging
dispersant compartment therein; a fluid dissolvable bridgeable
dispersant that may adhere to itself in the presence of a fluid to
form a dispersant bridge located within the dispersant compartment
with the dispersant extending laterally across said downwardly
diverging dispersant compartment and in contact with the diverging
sidewall but without adhering to the sidewall so that a weight of
the dispersant is sufficient to gravity feed the dispersant to the
bottom of the dispensing container whether the dispersant is in
either a bridged condition or a non bridged condition; a fluid
inlet passage located at the bottom of the dispenser container with
said fluid inlet passage directing the fluid into a fluid
dissolvable bridgeable dispersant in the internal dispersant
compartment to thereby incrementally carry dispersant away from a
bottom end of dispersant compartment; and a fluid outlet passage
located in said housing for transporting the fluid with the
disperant therein out of said dispenser container.
15. The dispensing container of claim 14 where the internal
sidewall forming an internal dispersant compartment therein has a
bottom cross sectional area larger than a top cross sectional area
of the dispersant compartment.
16. The dispensing container of claim 14 wherein the top end of the
housing and the sidewalls are closed and the bottom end has an
inlet and outlet port for water to flow therethrough.
17. The dispensing container of claim 14 wherein the specific
gravity of the dispersant is greater than the specific gravity of
the fluid so that the weight of the dispersant causes the
dispersant to fall into the fluid at the bottom of the dispensing
container.
18. The method of incrementally delivering a dispensable material
into a body of water containing a water dispensable material when
the dispensable material has a tendency to bridge as a fluid flows
through a bottom portion of the dispensable material comprising:
placing the dispensable material into a dispensing cartridge having
a smooth internal side wall that continually diverges outward from
a top end of the dispensing cartridge to a bottom end of the
dispensing cartridge with the bottom end of the dispensing
cartridge having a fluid inlet port and a fluid outlet port; and
placing the dispensing cartridge with the fluid inlet port and
fluid outlet port into an inline dispenser having an inlet port and
an outlet port; bringing the fluid inlet port and fluid outlet port
in the dispensing cartridge into fluid communication with the inlet
port and the outlet port of the dispenser so that the fluid flows
into and out of the bottom of dispenser cartridge to remove
dispensable material from a bottom portion of the dispensable
material in the dispensing cartridge while releasing any bridged
dispensable material suspended over the bottom end of the
dispensing cartridge through a gravitational force on the bridged
dispensable material; maintaining the fluid flowing through the
bottom of the dispensing cartridge as the smooth internal sidewall
of the dispensing cartridges directs the bridged dispensable
material into the fluid flowing through the bottom of the
dispensing cartridge.
19. The method of claim 18 including the step of directing a water
flow into the inline dispenser while retaining the dispensing
cartridge in a fixed position within the inline dispenser.
20. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of placing the
dispensing cartridge into the dispensing system comprises the step
of inserting the dispensing cartridge having a frusto conical shape
into the inline dispenser with a larger end of the dispensing
cartridge located below a smaller end of the dispensing cartridge
so that the dispensable material therein can fall downward into the
fluid flowing through the bottom of the dispensable canister even
though the dispensable material may adhere to itself and form a
bridge over the fluid inlet and outlet port of the dispenser
cartridge.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from provisional
application Ser. No. 62/388,549 filed Feb. 1, 2016.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] None
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] None
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] One of the difficulties with delivery of erodible materials
into a fluid from a canister is that oftentimes the concentration
of the materials delivered into the fluid varies in response to
various factors besides the flow rate of fluid through the
canisters. The problem of incorrect delivery rate may occur with
systems for delivery of water dispersant into a body of water,
which can be harmful. For example, where the concentration of the
dispersant in the body of water needs to be maintained within a
range to ensure the safety of the water for either consumption or
recreational use such as in swimming pools, spas or the like as
well as in systems where the erodible and dissolvable materials are
used to maintain systems in a conditioned state to prevent
bacterial growth. Since various factors including the type and
state of the dispersant materials as well as other factors
including the water temperature and water flow rates may have an
effect on the proscribed release of dispersant from the dispenser
one may not be able to ensure that the dispersant delivery rate
remains within an acceptable range.
[0005] Typically, in an inline system the water flow rate through
the inline dispenser is initially adjusted to deliver a proscribed
amount of disperant into the body of water. It is generally assumed
that as long as the water flow rate through the canister remains
constant the disperant rate from the canister should also remain
constant until the dispersant in the dispenser is exhausted.
However, since the dispensing material within the canister is
generally hidden from view one cannot readily observe if the
dispersant is being properly dispensed. For example, in some cases
the internal water flow effects such as the Coanda effect may cause
water to flow through the passages within the canister without
making sufficient contact with the dispersant in the canister. In
other cases the state of the dispersant material may cause the
dispersant rate to vary by preventing the water from coming into
proper contact with the dispersant in the canister. Since such
internal water effects may be transient and are not directly
viewable in a canister the operator may not know that the
concentration of dispersant has changed unless the concentration of
dispersant is continually monitored, which in some systems is not
feasible or practical. One of the methods of eliminating a problem
such as bridging or caking is to change the composition of the
dispersant while another may include monitoring temperatures to
ensure that changes in temperature of do not result in caking or
bridging within the dispenser. Thus, changes in the composition of
the dispersant as well as the control of other factors which affect
caking such as temperature may be used, however, such solutions can
be costly and time consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A dispensing system for delivery of a dispersant from a
canister containing an erodible but cakeable water dispersant
wherein the cakeable water dispersant remains in a one piece caked
condition as water flows through a bottom portion of the canister.
Typically, the water flowing through the dispersant in the bottom
of the canister erodes away the lower portion of the caked water
dispenser leaving a dispersant bridge in the canister, which can
reduce water contact with the dispersant and consequently reduce
the rate of delivery of dispersant. In the invention described
herein the dispenser cartridge includes a diverging sidewall that
allows bridged material to fall downward into the water path at the
bottom of the canister thus allowing one to maintain full water
contact with the dispersant and maintain the proper delivery
rate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a front view of an inline dispensing valve;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an inline dispensing valve
with a flow through dispensing canister therein;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a dispensing canister showing
a caked or solid water dispersant therein; and
[0010] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the dispensing cartridge of
FIG. 3 showing the displacement of the dispersant after a portion
of the caked water dispersant has been eroded by water flowing
through the bottom of the dispensing canister.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front view of an inline dispenser 10 having a
removable cap 12 on one end and a cylindrical sidewall 11 supported
by a base 19. On one side of housing 11 is an inlet fitting 13 and
the opposite side is an outlet fitting 14 for connection of inline
dispenser to a fluid line such as found in a water system.
Typically, water flows in through inlet fitting 13 and into a
chamber in the interior of the inline dispenser 10 and then out
through the outlet fitting 14. A rotary valve 15 contains a
diverter (not shown) to direct more or less fluid through the
chamber in inline dispenser 10. An example of an inline dispenser
is shown in King et al U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,743, which is herby
incorporated by reference.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of inline dispenser 10 with a
replaceable dispensing canister 20 located in a cylindrical chamber
10a in inline dispenser 10. Typically, the canister 20 fits within
the cylindrical chamber 10a in the inline dispenser 10 with a
bottom end of canister 20 having an inlet port 21 in fluid
communication with fluid inlet port 16 of inline dispenser housing
11 and an outlet port 22 in fluid communication with fluid outlet
port 17 in inline dispenser housing 11 so that water can flow into
and out of the dispensing canister 20 as indicated by the flow
arrows. Typically, with the presence of a dispersant in the
dispensing cartridge the water flows into the dispersant at the
bottom of the dispenser cartridge 20.
[0013] In the dispensing phase the fluid, for example water, is
directed into inlet fitting 13 and through the ports 16 and 21 and
into the chamber 20a in canister 20 where a solid dispersant 30 is
located therein (FIG. 3). The flowing water contacts the underside
of the solid dispersant 30 as the water flows through canister
ports 21 and 22. The flowing water caries dispersant out of the
canister 20 through ports 22 and 17 where the water containing the
dispersant returns to the system through outlet port 14.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a dispensing canister 20 of
the present invention having a caked water dispersant material 30
in an unspent condition therein. By caked it is meant that the
water dispersant material adheres to itself and takes the shape of
the interior of the canister once the dispersant materials are
placed therein. In this example the canister 20 has a frusto
conical shape with the top portion of the canister having a
diameter D.sub.1 and the lower portion of the canister having a
diameter D.sub.2 with D.sub.2 larger than D.sub.1 so that the
canister 20 flares or diverges radially outward from the top of the
canister to the bottom of the canister. The feature of downward
canister divergence together with a smooth or non interfering
sidewall 20c allows any caked dispensing material 30, which bridges
from side to side of the container, to fall into the flow path
through the bottom of the canister 20 where it is consumed.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows the dispensing material 30, which is located
within chamber 20a, has a top surface 30b and a side surface 30a in
contact with sidewall 20c of canister 20. As pointed out the
dispensing material 30 is a cakeable material or solid material,
which is water dissolvable as water flows through the canister 20.
The arrows in FIG. 3 illustrates that water enters canister 30 in
port 21 and flows out port 22. However, oftentimes the dispersant
will cake or bridge over the bottom of the container and starve the
system of the dispersant since water may flow in and out of the
canister with minimal contact with dispersant located in a
dispersant bridge. Typically, the cakeable dispersant material 30,
which is placed in the cartridge, forms a solid or solid like mass
having a side surface 30a, which is flush with interior wall 20c.
Examples, of water dissolvable cakeable material include BCDMH
(1-Bromo-3chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin), DBDMH
(1,3-Dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin), DCDMH
(1,3-Dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin), DBNPA
(2,2,dibromo-3-nitrilo-proprionamide) and Trichloroisocyanuric
acid.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the dispensing cartridge 20 of
FIG. 3 with the dispersant 30 therein in a partially spent
condition after a portion of the bridged caked water dispersant 30
has been eroded by water flowing through the lower portion of
canister chamber 20a. Note the curved under surface 30b formed by
the water flowing in and out of the ports 21 and 22. Typically, the
water contacts the bottom of the cakeable dispersant 30 and removes
material from the bottom or underside of the cakeable material,
which forms a cakeable dispersant bridge having an actuate
underside 30b. In the present invention the shape of the canister
is such that the canister diverges from the top to the bottom of
the canister. With the bottom of the dispensing cartridge 20 larger
than the top of the dispensing cartridge 20 the bridged material 30
is free to fall to the bottom of the dispensing cartridge 20 as
illustrated in FIG. 4. Consequently, the cakeable dispersant
material 30, which takes the shape of the interior surface 20a and
has a specific gravity greater than 1, falls to the bottom of
dispensing cartridge 20 as the bottom portion of the material 30 is
consumed. That is, the caked or solid dispersant 30 is free to fall
to the bottom of the dispenser cartridge 20 as shown in FIG. 4,
since the sidewall of canister 20 diverges outward. A feature of
the canister divergence is that it maximizes water contact with the
dispensable material as the water flows through the bottom of the
canister since the dispensable material does not get hung up at the
top of the dispensing cartridge 20 where there is less water
contact with the dispersant than at the bottom of the dispenser
cartridge 20. Consequently, the rate of delivery of material
remains constant since one can maintain a large contact area
between the flowing water and the dispersant as dispensable
material is continually being brought to the bottom of the
dispensing cartridge 20 which typically provides greater
interaction between the flowing water and the dispersant.
[0017] As described herein caking may occur when the dispensable
material is placed in a dispenser cartridge or the caking may occur
for various reasons, for example, such as contact with the water in
the dispensing cartridge. Since the caking may effect the
dispensing rate one approach is to prevent caking by changing the
content of the dispensable materials, however, it may not always be
feasible to change the content of the dispensing material in order
to avoid dispensing problems associated with caking. Another
problem with caked material, which is shown in FIG. 3, is that
dispensing material may cake and form a solid arch over the inlet
port and outlet port if the water is directed into and out of the
bottom of the dispensing cartridge. The caked bridge minimizes the
contact of flowing water to the dispensing material and thus
changes the rate of dispensing when the water is directed through
the bottom of the dispensing cartridge. It should be noted that in
some instances the dispensable material may not be caked when it is
placed a dispensing cartridge but becomes caked after exposure to
the water. In either case the caking of the material may lead to a
disruption of the dispensing rate and consequently an alternating
of the available dispersant in the body of water connected to the
inline system. In the invention described herein the problem
associated with caking of the materials within the dispenser has
been overcome through the feature of formation of a dispensing
cartridge that has a top region that diverges to a lower region as
shown in FIG. 1 so that even if dispensing material cakes within
the dispensing cartridge there are no protrusions in the sidewall
to prevent the caked dispensing material from falling into the flow
region within the lower portion of the dispensing cartridge.
[0018] In the example shown in FIG. 3 the interior sidewall 20c of
the dispensing canister 20 diverges or flares radially outward in a
downward direction, which is evidenced by D.sub.2 being larger than
D.sup.1' to thereby minimize or eliminate sidewall regions or
sidewall protrusions that can physical engage the caked bridged
material within the dispensing cartridge 20 to prevent a falling
displacement of the caked or solidified disperant therein. Thus,
the feature of the removal of physical impediments such as wall
protrusions and the use of a converging sidewall within the
dispensing cartridge minimize or eliminates physical barriers to
the caked dispersant becoming hung up within the dispensing
cartridge. In addition another feature of the invention is the use
of a dispensing interior cartridge with a smooth sidewall that
reduces the frictional forces or other types of adhesion forces
between the exterior surface of the caked dispersant and the
sidewall to a level such that the gravitational forces on the caked
disperant, which are due to the mass of the caked dispersant, are
sufficient to overcome any of the frictional or other types of
adhesion forces that may normally cause the caked disperant to
adhere to the wall. Thus with some dispersants a downward diverging
sidewall without physical impediments to obstruct caked dispersal
movement may be sufficient to prevent disruption in the dispersal
rate and other one may want to ensure that any forces between a
sidewall of the caked disperant is insufficient to hold the caked
disperant in place as a bottom portion of the caked disperant that
supports the caked disperant is removed to water flow through the
bottom of the dispensing cartridge.
* * * * *